Basketball to be given more attention in next Asiad?

JAKARTA – With the country’s withdrawal, return and eventual fifth-place finish in the 18^th Asian Games despite a hastily formed team, the PBA board of governors may well look back at all its Asiad participations in its annual planning session in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sept. 7-10.

Philippine Olympic Committee secretary general Patrick Gregorio, alternate representative of the TNT KaTropa ball club in the PBA board, is hoping Asiad basketball should be given more attention.

For one, the Asian Games is the Olympics of Asia and it is the Asian meet where the country has the best chance of winning, with Australia and New Zealand excluded from its roster of participants.

Back in the earlier years of the open era of international basketball, the Asian Games was the tournament that then PBA commissioner Rudy Salud chose to send their players.

PBA selections were a consistent Top Four finisher from second in Beijing in 1990, fourth in Hiroshima in 1994, third in Bangkok in 1998 and fourth in Busan in 2002. Then came the Rajko Toroman-mentored Gilas team that missed the medal round in 2010.

PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said he would raise the issue in their Las Vegas gab.

An extra week of preparation could have made the difference and sent Team Phl to the medal round in the just-concluded Asian Games here.

Losses to China (80-82) and Korea (80-91) relegated the Philippines to the consolation round that it topped for fifth place.

With what they’ve shown with the lineup led by Fil-Am NBA player Jordan Clarkson and PBA stars Christian Standhardinger, Stanley Pringle and Paul Lee, coach Yeng Guiao felt, with enough training time, we have the talents right now to be champion in the region.

“We didn’t need to wait for Kai Sotto and AJ Edu to be more mature and seasoned players, we have the talents right now,” said Guiao, quickly adding though the need for a cooperative effort among all the basketball stakeholders in the country led by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and the PBA.

Guiao pointed to the cooperation of the SBP and the PBA that led to country’s decent showing in the games despite a team formed a week before the start of the competition.

With its deep pool of talents, China ruled the 18^th Asian Games with its Team Blue while its Team Red continued to train at home for the September window of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers.

Abudushalamu Abudurexiti fired 20 points while Fang Shuo and Zaho Rui connected with 16 apiece and Zhou Qi added 15 as China topped Iran, 84-72, in the gold-medal game.

South Korea, meanwhile, bested Chinese Taipei, 89-81, for third place.